


You're In Pretty Good Shape, (For the Shape You're In)

by szm



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Season/Series 13 Spoilers, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-17 00:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13647180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/szm/pseuds/szm
Summary: Finding a place to belong after everything...





	You're In Pretty Good Shape, (For the Shape You're In)

**Author's Note:**

> *SPOILERS FOR SEASON 13 EPISODE 13* both in the fic and these notes.
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> SPOILERS AHEAD
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> I left the main character out of the tags to avoid spoiling people.
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> Last warning... there are spoilers.
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> We good?
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> So... episode 13 left me with many feelings. Because I love Gabriel so. This fic is set sometime after season 13, but at the time of writing I have only seen up to episode 13. This is mostly just me processing my feelings and letting the boys be happy. (Well, Supernatural happy and any rate). I have no doubt that everything I have assumed here will wind up differently. 
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> Friendship/Family/Pre-slash, readers choice.

Technically Gabriel was now in charge of heaven. But he didn’t spend much time there, preferring to leave the day-to-day running of the place to Anael. She was untrustworthy but predictably self-serving. As long as heaven’s best interest lay parallel to her own she’d be the best angel for the job. She had a streak of cunning practicality, and was less prone to knee-jerk smiting than most of the other candidates. Plus she knew the price of messing up was putting herself on the Winchester’s radar, and she was smart enough to realise the danger of that.

So smarter than his brothers for a start.

Michael and Lucifer were safe and locked up, back in the cage. But Gabriel was not his Dad. He wasn’t just going to leave them to rot. This wasn’t punishment, not really. Michael (this universe version, the other was dead. Killed by Lucifer, who now knew the truth in the human saying ‘be careful what you wish for’) was insane, letting him out would be killing him, and probably a lot of others along the way. Letting Lucifer out was impossible. He’d kill everyone in the end, too angry, too unwilling to see anyone else’s point of view. (Gabriel wondered if all the ‘just desserts’ he’d handed out as a Trickster had been him subconsciously wanting to teach his brother that lesson. Screw it. Archangels weren’t built for introspection.) Gabriel had enlarged the cage, tried to make it as comfortable as possible, and got Adam out. The poor kid hadn’t deserved any of that. (He’s done a deal with the new Death, got Adam sent to the Empty. Just sleep now, and nothing would touch him again. He hadn’t told the Winchester’s and they hadn’t asked.)

Gabriel visited them, brought them gifts, tried to make (hopefully) eternal imprisonment bearable at least. Michael mostly didn’t talk. Didn’t even look up most of the time. Once he smiled at Gabriel, said he’d missed him. More than once he’d been crying. Gabriel had placed extra warding, to stop Lucifer from hurting Michael, but as far as he could tell Lucifer hadn’t even tried. Sometimes he’d stare at Michael with a look that, if he were anyone else, Gabriel would call guilt. Killing the other Michael had… unsettled Lucifer, maybe that was why the desperate plan that should never have worked had actually worked? Or maybe Gabriel was just looking for some kind of sliver of redemption to pin to his eldest brother. Dad knew he didn’t seem to be upset about the time he’d ‘killed’ _Gabriel_. Lucifer screamed, taunted, lashed out. Gabriel still visited. Still went back time and time again. They were his family, and perhaps this was what he deserved. He’d abandoned them after all.

The rest of the time he spent at the bunker. Castiel was there, and he at least seemed happy that Gabriel was back, the only angel that didn’t look at Gabriel with some bastard hybrid of shame/pity/fear/anger. Most of the angels that were left were, to borrow a term from Dean, dickbags, and Gabriel didn’t have a lot left in common with them. As for the pagans, Gabriel still had one or two friends (for a given value of ‘friend’) but most kinda really hated him now.

Gabriel liked Jack, the kid was alright, and so like Castiel. He’d imprinted like a baby bird. It was adorable. But he was so young and so powerful, he needed protecting. No-one would use Gabriel’s nephew for their own ends. (Jack would never be in that cell, magically bound and his grace drained, mouth sewn up, not able to scream…)

Dean was refreshingly straight forward. He told you where you stood. No lies or games or half-truths. Blunt to the point cruelty at times, sure, but always honest. A trait that circumstances had given Gabriel a newfound respect for, even if he couldn’t quite match it himself.

Then there was Sam. Gabriel had never been fond of being quiet. Always loud, always in motion, always distracting and misdirecting. But now, after Asmodeus, he knew he was worse. He knew he exasperated Dean and confused Cas and Jack. Sometimes, when it was bad, the words felt like vomit, like he couldn’t stop. Before he was in control, now he wasn’t. It scared him, more than anything else ever had. But there were times, sat in the library in a heavily warded bunker, while Sam shuffled about sorting and reading. Researching, thinking, just _there_ a solid presence in a world made of mist. Times where Gabriel could be quiet, could be still, at something close to peace.

Because they knew. What this felt like.

When Sam didn’t have anything pressing to work on, he was researching ways to kill Lucifer. Sam shared that research with Rowena, even though he told Dean he didn’t know where she was (Dean knew, and Sam knew he knew). Because Sam _could never_ believe that threat was gone. Sam rubbed his palm when he was anxious, the same way that Gabriel rubbed at the lips Asmodeus had sewn shut, even though Gabriel had killed that bastard himself. Sam who would put his big, warm, _solid_ hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, grounding him when Gabriel felt like he could vibrate out of his skin, who never looked at him with pity but with understanding. 

“Hey, nerds,” shouted Dean as he walked in with Jack and Cas on his heels. “Dinner time.”

Sam rolled his eyes and smirked at Gabriel. “You’re gonna have to give me time to clear these away,” he said to his brother gesturing to the table full of books.

Dean sighed. “Bitch! My burger is getting cold.”

“No grease by the books, jerk!” countered Sam. “Why couldn’t we just eat in the kitchen?”

Dean shrugged, “I’m more comfortable in here.”

“You mean Sam’s more comfortable in here, and you’re a sap where your little brother is concerned?” asked Gabriel innocently.

“Yeah whatever, bite me angel dick,” grumbled Dean.

Cas tilted his head in a way that always spelt trouble for Gabriel. “I believe you also find the library… soothing.”

“Less yakking more book moving,” said Dean impatiently. 

Gabriel raised a hand and clicked his fingers, the books disappeared.

“Yes!” said Dean setting his bag down and gesturing for Jack to do the same.

“Gabriel!” exclaimed Sam, using his most scandalised eyebrows. 

Gabriel held up his hands in mock surrender. “All filed away in the correct places, I swear.”

Jack frowned in his most Castiel-like and adorable way. “I thought we were not allowed to ‘mojo’ the books.”

“You’re not,” countered Gabriel pointing a finger at Jack. “When _you_ have a couple of thousand years of experience we’ll talk about it.”

“No more mojo-ing the books by anyone,” frowned Sam, ‘bitch face’ in full effect.

They sat down to eat, Dean dishing out the various take away containers. Burger for Dean, a slightly less heart-attack inducing burger for Jack, fries for Castiel to pick at, a ‘girly-ass’ salad for Sam and…

“Waffles!” exclaimed Gabriel, making grabby hands across the table. “Aw Dean, you do love me after all.”

“Shut up,” said Dean round a mouthful of burger. “I had to go to a completely different diner for those.”

“You realise I could have just snapped myself up some?” asked Gabriel digging in with his fork.

Dean swallowed. “Not gonna leave you out, idijt.”

Gabriel didn’t know quite what to say to that.

“We still on for Saturday?” asked Sam to the whole table.

Jack nodded and Cas said “Of course.” Dean just looked blank.

Sam sighed. “Donna’s BBQ, remember? She said it was ridiculous that we only ever meet up for monsters, and made Jodie agree to host it…”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember. Sure, I’m still in.” He took another massive bite of the burger. 

Now everyone at the table was looking at Gabriel. “What?” he asked, feeling self-conscious.

Dean rolled his eyes and forced himself to swallow the huge mouthful of burger. “You. Barbeque. Saturday? You haven’t met Donna yet, have you?”

“I’m invited?” asked Gabriel, not quite hiding his surprise. 

“Of course you are,” said Sam all big eyes and concern. “I mean we get it if you’re… busy.”

_’Visiting Lucifer’_ hung in the air like a cloud over the table. Suddenly Dean was watching them both very carefully, like a Mama bear whose cubs had wandered close to the river.

“No,” said Gabriel. “I can be free Saturday. Besides I’d love to meet the famous Donna.”

“She is very nice,” said Jack beaming. “Also there is Claire, who keeps calling me ‘cus’.”

Just like that the conversation turned to a debate about what (if any) relation Claire Novak was to Jack Kline. 

Gabriel suddenly realised, for the first time in eons, that he felt like he belonged.


End file.
